TRP: Goro and Sugar (Tide Pool)
Coyote: at 6:37 PM directly after the Diva fight, once the party takes the ship and returns to Mishka’s estate. Goro bolts away from the party and hides in the bushes. Mishka starts to come over, then stops. He watches Goro a long time, gathering information, then backs away. He goes to Sugar instead. They have a brief conversation; Mishka’s face is smooth and calm, but his shoulders are tense. Sugar nods emphatically, then hurries over to Goro. Sugar knelt beside Goro on the ground silently. Then, hesitantly, she reached out to pull him into her lap for a hug. Lina: at 6:44 PM He watched her approach. He forced himself to hold still. Don't be a fucking lunatic. Don't. Act normal. Well, was a little late for that. But he could at least not make things worse. He let her pull him close, but didn't fully give in to the hug. He was tense, rigid, and he stayed crouching awkwardly beside her instead of letting himself be pulled on top of her. He reached one arm around and patted her back, woodenly. Normal. A real fucking normal guy, that was him. He cleared his throat. "You alright? You hurt? I can heal you." Coyote: at 6:48 PM Sugar hugged him tight for a long moment. He still smelled the same, a bit like salt and a bit like the incense they used in temples. He wouldn't relax into her, though. There was a tight and angry feeling in her chest, the same feeling that casting ice magic gave her. "No?" she said, surprised. "Um... no. Yeah, no, I'm fine. Also, you, um. You're the one who needs--?" She paused. "You're the one who needs healing." She rested her hand on his arm, on an ugly purple bruise turning brown and black. Lina: at 6:55 PM "Me? No no, I'm good." He started to laugh but it came out too forced, like a cough. Just as well. No normal person would be laughing right now. "I'm great. Diva's dead and..." And he had no business being a fucking mess, still. Except he wasn't sure this part wasn't the dream. Yeah, his ribs still hurt like a bitch, but at some point he'd decided maybe pain was the thing he dreamed. He dreamed pain and love in one neat little package, and the real world had neither. Maybe he should just try to enjoy this while it lasted. Make the most of the time he had. He was staring into space, he realized, and sat up straight and shifted around, wanting to feel more awake. Coyote: at 7:02 PM "Hey," Nixie said. "It's okay. I mean, it isn't, but. But it's going to be. Right?" No. She had to be certain, because Goro looked awfully uncertain right now, and he couldn't fucking comfort her while-- while he was messed up. She had to be the captain, right now. "It's going to be okay," she said more firmly. "But it's alright if it-- isn't, now. What was it like? What did she do to you?" God, she was so fucking angry at Diva. She hadn't let herself be angry before; she'd needed to focus, so she'd set it aside. But she was so fucking angry, now. Lina: at 7:04 PM He didn't see the point in being evasive. "Showed me my worst nightmares. She could make me see anything she wanted." He frowned. "How... how long? How long was she in me?" Coyote: at 7:05 PM Nixie was quiet as she counted. "Almost... almost twenty-hours. Maybe less. Y-you.... couldn't tell?" Lina: at 7:08 PM He felt dizzy as his mind raced frantically through what he remembered. Slowly, he sat back in the cover of the bush, a hand over his mouth. His body went cold. "That... that can't be right. You counted wrong. You mean..." He shook his head. "Try again. You counted wrong." Coyote: at 7:10 PM "No? No. I didn't. We went into the warehouse mid-afternoon... then we rested there all evening and all night to gather our spells and prepare.... then we woke up in the morning and made a plan.... then we left around noon, after eating hard tack...." She kept counting. "... and the sun was at exactly midday when we went down." She glanced up. It seemed about three o'clock now. "Twenty-two hours. She had you twenty-two hours." She looked at him. "Why? Why does it seem wrong?" Lina: at 7:15 PM He pressed his other hand over his mouth. "Oh god," he said, muffled. "Oh my fucking god." Days. Days, he'd thought. And even then, he'd been scolding himself for not holding up better than Ripley and Mishka, both of them hosted for even longer. It hadn't even been twenty-four hours. He had no excuse. He was just that fucking weak. He didn't want to tell her. It was pathetic. Run? Change subject? Change subject. He lowered his hands, shaking, but couldn't think of a single thing to say. Coyote: at 7:20 PM Nixie watched him, face that pastel-pink color again. Her hands bunched in her lap. She wanted to throw her hands around his neck and cry. But-- she had to-- stay calm, and be strong right now, because Goro-- Goro was really fucked up, it looked like, and she-- she had to-- She threw her arms around his neck and grasped him tight again fucking refused to let go. "What did she do?" Sugar said, and her voice was ragged and enraged. Her mom really hurt people when she was mad. Sugar always thought it was awful when that happened. But she could understand, right then. She wanted to hurt something. As bad as Diva hurt Goro, and Mishka, and the rest of them. Lina: at 7:32 PM Ah, fuck, Nixie. He... well, he thought he might be in love with her. The feelings that surged through him when he looked at her, whenever she did anything, and her showing all this compassion for him and... god. He wasn't sure what else it could be, besides love. Had he made her up? Was he making all this up? Leaning into the feeling seemed dangerous, if it was going to be snatched away at any second. But he could hardly do anything else, because being with her was so good. The hug was agony on his ribs, but that was fine, because... Now, he was losing track. Because there were the dreams that had none of his friends and no pain, there were the dreams that had friends and no pain, and were there dreams with no friends and just pain? "She made me not sure what's real and what isn't," he said. Again, no point in hiding it. "Because I'm not sure if I dreamed everything up. I'm not sure how to tell." Coyote: at 7:37 PM "It's okay," Nixie said. "Mormiir hurt her real fucking bad. Real fucking bad. I think we scared her. She was small, at the end. She was... backing up. We killed one of her flesh golems first-- and her puppet-- and she saw us coming. She knew it was coming." Her voice didn't sound sweet anymore. It sounded ugly and raw. Her hands were shaking. She didn't let go. "This is real," she said. "This is real. And she's gone." Nixie's voice felt thick when she spoke. "I wish she were still here so we could hurt her more. I don't-- I'm not-- I don't want to be this angry. Is this-- is this okay?" Her hands were shaking worse, now. She wondered if this made her an ugly person, wanting to hurt something this bad. Lina: at 7:45 PM She's just telling you this so you lower your guard, and then she's going to come hurt you again. No. Just, fucking no. It didn't make sense. He had a lifetime of memories, and Diva had lied to him for a day. Stupid bitch. She couldn't fake pain. He'd been sure of that, for a while. And damn, he hurt like hell. This was real. Nixie was real. And Diva was fucking dead. He knew they could do it. He put his arms around Nixie and pulled her tight against him. (Ow, ow, it fucking hurt, ow.) He held his breath trying not to grunt, then let it out and tried to pretend it was a laugh. That just made it hurt worse. Just as well. "Yes. It's okay. I'm angry all the time. I mean, I don't think you should be angry all the time. I don't think you'd like it. But you've earned it this time. And I--" Alright, not time to break out the declarations of love just yet. Not while he wasn't right in the head. He was going to have to sleep on that one. For a week, at least. Maybe a year. Or ten. "Let yourself feel whatever you feel, Nix." Coyote: at 7:51 PM "Okay." There was a horrible ice-cold feeling inside her, like she could dig her fingers into someone's chest and pulled out their heart in a fistful of ice. "Okay. I feel, like... really angry, then, yeah." She just at there a minute, feeling the shape of his body against hers. They fit together. They fit perfectly. She missed Goro. She'd missed him during the fight. She'd thought of him then; it would've felt good to fight with him, side by side, silvery magic blazing in her hands, silvery magic flickering in his. But they'd have that again in the future. Sometime. Somewhere. When the next disaster came. She rose to her feet and pulled him up with her. Or she tried, at least. Lina: at 7:56 PM He leaned on her a bit too heavily as he got to his feet. He didn't want her to realize how badly he was still hurt. He didn't want anyone to realize, or they'd want to know why he hadn't healed himself, or worse they'd try to heal him themselves, and... nah, that was bad. He squeezed her hand tight and hoped it disguised the strain it put on him to stand up. Brave face. For her and everyone else. Good thing Larkin wasn't around to scrutinize and prod him. Coyote: at 7:59 PM Back in the warehouse, someone had commented about Goro being almost dead. She searched his face. Roddy had healed him a little, but it seemed like Roddy didn't have much magic left. "Can you-- can you fix yourself?" Fingers still resting on the bruise on his arm. Lina: at 8:00 PM "Yep. It's fine. It's, you know, it's not that bad. I'll save my magic for anyone else who needs it. Oh, that?" He prodded at the bruise. Good and achy. "Eh, can hardly feel it. Not worth the trouble." Coyote: at 8:04 PM "Oh wow. I mean, you look really busted up. I mean, really busted up. But, if you say so? You wouldn't lie to me. You must be fine. Wow, though, you look bad. It's fine, though. I trust you." She held his hand, still. It was warm. Goro was covered in blood and grime; they both were. "Come wash up with me. Down by the shore. There's a pool where the rocks get hot at high tide.I have spells left, and-- and daggers. I'll keep us safe." Lina: at 8:08 PM He let her lead him, clinging tight to her hand. "God, Nixie. I'm a good liar. A real fucking good liar. I can and do lie to you. Do you need me to teach you to tell if someone's lying? I'll do it." He was earnest, and he kept his tone gentle. Still hadn't forgotten what a shit he'd been that one day, when he'd been trying to drive her away. This wasn't like that. He really thought she should know, be able to tell at least sometimes, when someone was lying to her. Just, not about this in particular. Coyote: at 8:24 PM She didn't look back at him. "I mean," she said, eyes cast down. "You can. Try? But. I don't... know if I need to. I can tell who's going to hurt me and who isn't, usually. That's... good enough. It'd be okay if you lied to me, ever, because you'd have good reasons, and that would be fine. I either trust someone or I don't. It's fine. Mishka's a liar, too, but--" And then she was silent. "I mean," she said. "Hansel is physically stronger than me. If he wanted to hurt me, he could. That doesn't mean I need to be stronger than him to defend myself around him. I know he wouldn't, ever. It's the same with you being a liar. I know you're too good a liar and you could use it to hurt me. But you wouldn't. Does that really mean I need to be better? Why would I need to?" She hesitated again, chewing the inside of her mouth. "Maybe," she said cautiously. "I'd like that, yeah. For other people." They reached the sun-warmed rocks, and she led him to a deep pool filled with clear, hot water. Lina: at 8:39 PM God, that was... fucking dreamy, is what it was. I know you're too good a liar and you could use it to hurt me. But you wouldn't. Hell if that weren't the truth. If she was insightful enough to know that much, then yeah, he supposed she was right. She was fine the way she was. He could try to give her enough tips to hold her own around people she didn't know well, though. He wanted to say fuck getting cleaned up; just stop her and grab her and kiss her hard. But it really wasn't the time. It'd hurt, for one thing. And he still wasn't in his right mind. Kissing when you were really out of it didn't seem like a smart idea. Nixie stripped down to her underwear. Actually, come to think of it, all this being a dream suddenly seemed a lot more likely. Fuck, though, good dream. She climbed into the water, and he sat down on the rocks. Ah, they were so warm. That was nice. He hadn't realized how sleepy he was, until that moment. He lay down carefully on his side, letting his battered ribcage soak up the heat. He squinted to keep from staring at her too hard. Seemed rude, even if it was a dream. Coyote: at 8:44 PM Nixie frowned at him. He wasn't taking his clothes off. She scrubbed the blood and grime off her with a handful of sand, then sat on the rocks and exfoliated her feet while Goro dozed on the warm rocks. Once she was done with herself, she walked to a small outcropping and pulled out a small, battered box from between the stones. There was soap inside, and dried towels stiff with salt. She grabbed the soap and headed towards Goro, still fully clothed on the rocks. Lina: at 8:50 PM Squinting turned into resting his eyes, and when that turned into almost drifting off, he shoved himself upright, heart racing, taking big gasping breaths that felt like agony. But agony meant he was awake. Coyote: at 8:53 PM Nixie paused. She stared at Goro. He looked scared. And-- really hurt, yeah. "You," she said slowly, then recalculated. Goro wouldn't lie to her to hurt her. Goro might lie to cover something up, though. "Oh. You were lying to me earlier. When you said you weren't hurt." She frowned at him. This was a problem. But Nixie was good at problems. She'd fucking sort this out. She set down the soap and towels on the ground. She took his shoulder firmly. "Why haven't you healed yourself?" She stared him straight in the eye, only a foot away, grip tight on his shoulder to keep him there. Lina: at 8:57 PM "Because," he said breathlessly, "saving my magic--for you guys. I can handle it, alright? It'll heal--on its own--in time." Coyote: at 8:58 PM "Oh," Nixie said. "No. Heal yourself." Lina: at 9:00 PM He shook his head. He might be able to get her to drop it, though, if proceeded like everything was normal. So he pulled his shirt off, dislodging her hand in the process. A nice bath, that would be good. His ribcage was a patchwork of angry red and purple, so dark it looked black in places. "Ah fuck," he muttered. Coyote: at 9:04 PM Kraken's teeth. Sugar's hand clenched. There were swollen places on his ribs, like there was bleeding inside. "Goro," she said quietly, still looking straight at him. "Heal. Your. Self." She took his shirt, folded it, and set it aside. She didn't move, still dripping on the rocks. "I'm not, like, real strong, but I can do get the others. I can get Larkin, when she eventually comes back. Oh! And Hansel. And Hansel will sit on you until you fix yourself. Or Roddy will do it. But I don't--" She let out a breath. "I don't want to do that," she said, hard. She cupped his jaw and made him look up at her. "I'd rather do it quietly, here, you. And me. No fuss. All quiet. So go on. Heal yourself." Lina: at 9:10 PM Fine. Fine. He just wouldn't do it all the way. She wouldn't know the difference. He rested his hands across his ribs, closed his eyes, and whispered his prayer. Stopped about--ehh, he'd say halfway. Opened his eyes and looked down to see the bruising fade to blue and then yellow, shrinking as it went. He dragged his trousers off, leaving just his underpants. He slid into the water, up to his chin to hide his body. Took a deep breath in, and winced. Okay, good. Still fairly painful. Coyote: at 9:13 PM "Goro," Nixie said sweetly. "I see what you just did there and that was bad. That was not doing what I said. I am not okay with it. But I'm gonna go get Roddy and Hansel and they're gonna come hold you down and fix you, so it's okay, I forgive you." She started up towards the house, then stopped after only a step. Actually, she shouldn't leave Goro alone. She edged back to the pool. "Actually, I'll do that later." She hopped in the pool and passed him the soap. Lina: at 9:17 PM "Outta magic," he said. He accepted the soap and set work cleaning himself. Coyote: at 9:20 PM Nixie frowned at him again. "I want you to know I don't believe that, but also I don't know enough to argue. It's okay, though. I'll make you do the rest in the morning." She sat quietly on the edge of the water and enjoyed soaking her feet and the warm sun on her back. She watched him to make sure he was okay. And also. Maybe. Other reasons. Too. Lina: at 9:30 PM Even if he could talk his way out of that one somehow--he was right, they would heal on their own eventually. And what was he going to do then, break one of his own ribs? Redo it every few weeks? It could be smaller pains, maybe. Didn't have to go that far. He finished with the soap and set it on one of the rocks, then checked his nails to see if he'd got all the dirt out. And an image came to mind: Mishka, pinching the skin on his wrist with his fingernails, until he drew blood. Goro's stomach plummeted. Oh. He should... talk to Mishka. About all this. Except that would require admitting what a fucking mess he'd become after less than twenty-four hours. No, he was not sure how he could ever look Mishka in the eye again. He'd hoped getting hosted would put them on the same level or something, somehow. But it had done the opposite. He could feel himself slipping, again. Getting panicky. He turned to face Nixie, tried his best to let the sight of her calm him. It's real. She's real. "So, uh. You come here a lot?" Coyote: at 9:32 PM Nixie smiled. "Yes. But I usually have less clothes on." She tried not to smile too hard in delight at her own pickup line. Mishka said you had to act smooth. God, that was so good, though. Lina: at 9:35 PM Goro felt the blood rush to his face. Better there than further south, at least. But he should stop this before things headed that way. "It's, uh. Got a nice view." Of course he said that while staring directly at her. Fuck. Coyote: at 9:37 PM She craned her head around at the waves crashing on the shore. "It does. I like it out here. I caught a boy staring at me, once, though. So I shot a piece of ice at him and he doesn't come back anymore." Lina: at 9:38 PM "Hmm. Good." He frowned. "What'd he look like? Maybe I should go check on him. See if you did any... permanent damage." Coyote: at 9:40 PM "Oh. I don't remember. He wasn't interesting." She got out of the water and headed towards her clothes. She picked them up. Her underwear was soaked now, and she'd need to take it off and leave it here to dry. Put her clothes on without it. "I need to dress." She made a spinning motion with her finger, indicating Goro ought to turn around. Lina: at 9:42 PM He turned away and covered his eyes. Tried to think about anything else. Larvae. Oh, sure, why the fuck not, that worked. Lots of larvae, dripping from the ceiling and wiggling on the ground. God damn it, she was taking a long time. Coyote: at 9:45 PM She tossed her wet underwear on a boulder with a smack and straightened them out carefully to dry, then shimmed her clothes back on. She buttoned her white shirt and pulled her breeches back up, but left her shoes off. She rolled up her pants and went barefoot. "D'you need to dress too? Are you done?" Lina: at 9:45 PM "I'm, uh. I think I'll hang out here for a while." He tried to squeeze his eyes closed even harder. Coyote: at 9:48 PM "Okay," Sugar said quietly, watching him. "Um. Mishka told me. We have... rooms... back at the estate. There's three upstairs... one is his, and then... an empty guest room, and then my old room-- that's a guest room now too. And the couch in the library. Mishka says you ought to stay in the house, we all should, if we can." Lina: at 9:49 PM "Yep." Was she just standing there naked, talking to him? "Are you, uh, are you dressed now?" Coyote: at 9:49 PM "Oh. Yeah." Lina: at 9:51 PM He lowered his hand and turned to face her. Fuck, she was too damn pretty. "I'll meet you up there in a bit." Mainly because the thought of taking his underwear off within twenty feet of her--eyes covered or no--was actually something that might kill him. Coyote: at 9:57 PM Nixie hesitated for a long time. "Okay," she said quietly. "If you... say so. But I'm gonna be... right up there, okay? By the house. And I'll come back down here if you-- if you aren't up in twenty minutes." She bit her lip. "I want you to say you're gonna come up there in twenty minutes, and I don't want to you be lying this time," she said firmly. Lina: at 9:57 PM "I'll come up in ten. How about that?" He smiled. Weakly, but genuinely. Coyote: at 10:00 PM "Okay." She hesitated. "I'd like it. If you. Slept in my room, with me. It's a big bed. While we're here. Is that okay?" Lina: at 10:03 PM God, and his face had just started to cool to a normal temperature. "I, uh, yeah. We'll find an extra blanket or something. And a cot. Or the floor. See you in a bit." Coyote: at 10:04 PM Nixie nodded, feeling content. She'd made progress here. Her tail didn't lash, though. She headed up to the house quietly, alone, and sat in the gazebo in the vineyard at the top of the hill, out of sight. She sat there quietly, eyes closed, and she waited. Lina: at 10:07 PM After five minutes, Goro approached, shirt and pants on and wet underwear balled in his fist. He was going to have to hide that somewhere before anyone else saw. He sat across from her in the gazebo. Coyote: at 10:13 PM Nixie relaxed when he reappeared. He hadn't lied. Her tail twitched. She took his hand and pulled his hand towards the house. "C'mon. Let's help inside." END Category:Text Roleplay